1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the cardboard container art and more particularly to a novel tray container with full width three ply laminar end walls and to a single preformed body blank from which the entire container is erected. The invention relates also to a novel container forming method and machine for erecting the body blank into a finished container.
2. Prior Art
Containers of the kind to which this invention pertains are intended primarily for use as produce containers, and the invention will be discussed in this context. It will become evident as the description proceeds, however, that the container of the invention is not necessarily limited to this use.
The prior art is replete with a vast assortment of produce containers, container forming methods, and container forming machines. For example, by abandoned application Ser. No. 718,130, filed Aug. 27, 1976 discloses a container forming machine for forming tray containers, Bliss boxes and tray-in-tray containers.
While the tray style produce box is widely used, it has an outstanding deficiency. This deficiency resides in the fact that the box has only single thickness end walls with short inside end wall panels and thus possesses low stacking strength and low resistance to deformation.
Another existing produce container has multiple ply laminar end walls of a sort. Only one outer layer or ply of each end wall, however, extends the full width of the container. The remaining layers or plies of each end wall extend only slightly more than one half the container width and overlap one another only slightly at the center of the end wall. Accordingly, each container end wall effectively has only two layers or plies.
The so called Bliss box has high stacking strength but is a three piece box which must be made in a complex machine having three supply magazines for the separate body and end wall blanks. The machine occupies a relatively large floor area of the packing shed, as does the area for inventorying the supply of separate body and end wall blanks.